How should seniors cope with loss of distance?

[isukgolf]

Kudos to you ... Many of us pray we are still hitting that far at 72 ... As far as the "ladies or forward" tees go ... Tell the young lads I am playing the tips ... When they look at you and respectfully laugh under their breath, laugh and say the "south" tips ... The red ones ... Sets a good tone for the day with laughter.

[arturo28mx]

Use clubs and driver with a lower swingweight. Something around D0 or perhaps a little less.

Some drivers have interchangeable weights. Otherwise, cut a 1/4 inch off the butt end. This will reduce swingweight by three points and as an additional benefit give you more control to hit the sweetspot.

I'm 56.

[GolfLug]

I will be 40 in a few months but last year I have had the privilege of playing with two retired military officers in their late 80s a few times. One of them had onset fibromyalgia. Whatever you do, you MUST be gentle to your joints, they said. Simply put you must exert only as much muscular force that your skeletal system can support and sustain. I guess true for any age, but more so at later years for longevity. Sorry, but if you don't reign your 'power' you will pay for it. As lots of comments on this post have already mentioned distance loss is inevitable. I am saying you must actually reduce it DELIBERATELY for longevity. At 72, I think LOTS of golf left!

[tbg0]

I don't know where you play but my parents lived in Florida for the first 25 years of their retirement. Dad played at least three times a week until he physically couldn't do it anymore. He felt somewhat like you in that he was contemplating giving up the game because he couldn't score the way he used to. I went to visit him and played the course he belonged to. They had stopped calling any tees "Ladies" years prior because of the growing retired population at the course. Instead, they geared their tees toward handicap. Furthest back - scratch. Next set forward - 7 or less, etc. All tees were competitive for that level of golfer, male or female, young or old. Based on your abilities, you played the Black, White, Black & White, Blue & Orange, Black & Yellow. Dad had been playing the White tees since he'd arrived there 15 years prior. He was devestated every time he turned in a score card over 100. There was an explanation of the tee boxes on the score card. I talked to the local pro to insure I understood the concept. A few days later we played another round. Being a 14, I moved up to the Black& White tees. Dad refused to do the same until I "stepped" on each of his first three tee shots. The next time I visited, I played the Black & Whites and he played the Blue & Orange. We had a great, competitive round and had fun at the same time. Play it forward, play for fun, play the game.

[disco111]

Aside from moving up (playing it forward), you may want to look at shaft fitting. Perhaps a different shaft with a different kick point could be of benefit, without having to extend the length or perhaps it could be a combination of both. Couldn't hurt to investigate. At 71, I still play from the back tees with the younger group I play with and I'm about 2 to 4 clubs (irons) different and all the par 5's are 3 shots or even 4. I frequently will putt from 10 to 15 yards from the green (we have some fairly tight fairways) and it drives them nuts when I get up and down. But here's another thought, try out a ladies set if you don't want to spend on re-shafting, it just may serve the same purpose. A few of the younger senior players here did so and got some decent results. Could be worth a try, but remember what Mr Churchill said....... If your walking through hell, keep walking".......

[Rick Martin]

I am 72 and have played golf since I was 13. My lowest handicap was plus one, in the days the lowest handicap one could hold was scratch, with current internationalists on plus one and the National (British) Amateur Champion on plus two.

My driving and particularly iron distances are rapidly diminishing, with my drives averaging around 220 yards and 5 iron about 150 yards.

What distances should be expected at my age do you think, and what steps can I take to counteract my loss of distance?  My home course has 11 par 4 holes, and 7 are out of reach in 2 shots nowadays, so I struggle to play to my handicap -----would you join another, shorter course??!!!  I've tried whippier shafts, longer clubs, softer balls and nothing seems to help.

What would you do, other than stop playing???!!

my father has the same issue - and discussed the stop playing part - I tell him he just has go get better with his hybrids, long irons, fairway woods and short game -  you can't expect to get the same distance as 70 yr old as you did when you were younger, stronger.....I've been whipped royally by some 70-yr olds w/ deadly fairway wood games and even deadlier chipping game (lots of up and down).........

[Crim]

You still outdrive a fairly athletic 28 year old.

Tee it forward if possible, continue to hit the sweet spot, & have a blast. That's advice that I need to continue to use.

[cipher]

Just a heads up @HighlandLaird is a banned user and the post is over a year old.